Schools feel more confident as remote learning restarts

After a rough start to remote learning last spring, many students and parents are wondering what kind of experience they will find as they return to virtual classroom this fall. For the most part, school districts have been planning throughout the summer for how they will teach thousands of students at home.

Erin Glover, a third-grade teacher at Blackwell Elementary, believes that schools have a far better system in place for this fall.

“Spring, the pandemic, when everything happened and the schools closed, wasn’t a true remote learning,” Glover said. “It was crisis management. Versus in the fall, it’s more of a true, authentic, remote learning. They’ve had time to plan and get that sense of remote.”  

Schools have made several major changes with that goal in mind.  

One of the most important changes to remote learning is the shift to a synchronous, or live, learning platform. Due to equity and network capacity concerns, many schools made online meetings optional or up to a teacher’s discretion last spring, but synchronous learning will be required for all students when school starts again in the fall. In elementary school, online meetings will be dispersed at set times throughout the day that students must attend. In secondary schools regardless of district, similar schedules of various synchronous learning periods will be implemented, with asynchronous learning hours on Wednesdays, where assignments are given to be completed individually.

The goal with these online meetings is to not only promote better learning, but also to allow more virtual interaction for the social and emotional wellbeing of students. 

Schools will also have resources for emotional support, such as school counselors, who will be available for virtual appointments to provide guidance in self-care and wellness.

Meagan Elliot, a counselor at Pine Lake Middle School, explained that the student counseling system will be voluntary.

“We’re not pushing in, checking in with every single student because they’re very busy, and we know that online school is so stressful for kids,” Elliot said. “We really are here for anyone who needs us…so we really encourage them to reach out and let us know how we can help.” 

Another change is the consolidation of platforms to learn from, ensuring consistency across teachers in the tools they use for communication and assignments.  

In Lake Washington School District (LWSD) the goal is a ‘one-click’ system where everything is integrated in Microsoft Teams, an application that hosts video meetings, allows file sharing and chat functionalities, and can be used to access other third-party software. New features, such as a weekly digest of assignments and ‘breakout rooms’ in online meetings, will also be implemented.   

Issaquah School District (ISD) is taking a slightly different approach. Its main platform will be Canvas, a learning management platform that organizes assignments, grades, announcements, and other functionalities for classes. Other platforms, such as Teams for online meetings and SeeSaw for elementary school, will also be utilized.  

Eastside Catholic (EC) is  relying primarily on Teams for communication, as well as other apps for course-specific assistance. 

Since it remains uncertain how long remote learning will continue, the districts are exploring ways to adapt the curricula to improve virtual learning.

At Eastside Catholic last spring, the focus was to keep students learning in some form until it was possible to come back to the classroom, rather than switching to a full and effective online environment. 

 “Now, we’re looking at it [remote learning] as what can we do to really incorporate our school year, in every aspect of school continuing,” Andrew Harris, a physics teacher at EC, said.

Teachers have narrowed the content that needs to be delivered, and are focusing more in-depth on what they do cover, rather than trying to deliver a full-year curriculum.  

In LWSD, schools will be looking to modify, though not lower, standards to better suit the situation, a change from last spring’s prioritization of essential content. Teachers believe these improvements to the curricula will still allow them to deliver the majority of the content. 

Similarly, ISD has been working to determine the most essential aspects of the curricula, believing that it will be a challenge to cover the same amount of material as before.  

Schools are also planning on adding tutorials at the start of the year to teach students how to learn effectively in a remote setting. 

Ron Thiele, the superintendent of ISD, is staying positive as students head into the fall semester.

“Some of the other learning that’s going to happen — how to learn remotely, how to interact in systems like Zoom or Teams — that’s not a bad skill for our students to learn, or our teachers to learn either,” Thiele said. “This may be a bigger part of our future than we know.”  

Many teachers and administrators have emphasized that this is new for everyone. While improvements are in place, there will still be kinks to work out. 

Timothy Rodgers, a humanities teacher at Eastlake High School, wants to remind students that their teachers are doing the best they can.

“This is hard for everyone – teachers, families, and students,” Rodgers said. “Things aren’t going to be perfect, but we’re all in this together.” 

Below is a comprehensive list of policy changes by district:

Lake Washington School District (LWSD)

• All elementary students will receive laptops for the first time, in addition to secondary school computer distribution.
• Childcare is being provided for working parents; the LWSD is working with other community partners for younger students to be dropped off and watched by childcare providers, though not certified teachers.
• To provide flexibility for students unable to participate during designated learning times, attendance will be, in part, based on asynchronous participation. Due to privacy concerns meetings will not be recorded.
• Schools will mostly be returning to the grading system in place before coronavirus. Teachers, however, can give grading leniency on a case-by-case basis.
• LWSD is prioritizing getting special education students and younger students, who may encounter difficulty in learning remotely, into the classroom and learning in-person safely.
• Methods planned for science labs include the use of virtual simulations, filmed demonstrations, packets of materials sent home to students, and live demonstrations in which students can direct teachers on various steps. Specifics of how each lab will function will be up to the teachers.
• For classes, especially art, that require materials students do not have at home, schools are looking at sending packets home or having students pick up materials at designated times.
• For classes that involve high interaction, such as Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Theater, the focus will be on individual improvement and student knowledge. Teachers believe that learning and performing in the remote environment will require more self-sufficiency. Recording individual parts and compiling together in virtual ensembles is a possibility, especially for smaller groups of musicians.
• School start and end times have been shifted, with class going from about 9-3:50 for all schools.
• For more information, visit https://www.lwsd.org/get-involved/task-forces/return-to-school-task-force.

Issaquah School District (ISD)

• ISD will provide electronics to families in need; however, laptops will not be given to every student.
• Childcare is being provided for working parents. ISD has had a history of self-operated childcare services and will continue to offer childcare in small groups for elementary students.
• To provide flexibility for students unable to participate during designated learning times, attendance will be, in part, be based on asynchronous participation. Meetings will be recorded for future reference.
• Schools will mostly be returning to the grading system in place before coronavirus, However, students can be given incompletes rather than fails if they are unable to finish the course through no fault of their own.
• ISD is prioritizing getting special education students and younger students, who may encounter difficulty in learning remotely, into the classroom and learning in-person safely.
• Methods planned for science labs include the use of virtual simulations, filmed demonstrations, packets of materials sent home to students, and live demonstrations in which students can direct teachers on various steps. Specifics of how each lab will function will be up to the teachers.
• For classes, especially art, that require materials students do not have at home, schools are looking at sending packets home or having students pick up materials at designated times.
• For classes that involve high interaction, such as Band, Orchestra, Choir, and Theater, the focus will be on individual improvement and student knowledge. Teachers believe that learning and performing in the remote environment will require more self-sufficiency. Recording individual parts and compiling together in virtual ensembles is a possibility, especially for smaller groups of musicians.
• School start and end times have also been shifted, with class going from about 8-2:50 for high school, 8:30-3:30 for middle school, and 9:15-3:40 for elementary school.
• For more information, visit https://www.issaquah.wednet.edu/reopening.

Eastside Catholic School (EC)

• All students will continue to receive computers.
• Methods planned for science labs include the use of virtual simulations, filmed demonstrations, packets of materials sent home to students, live demonstrations in which students can direct teachers on various steps, and having students on campus to do labs. Specifics of how each lab will function will be up to the teachers.
• Similarly, for classes, especially art, that require materials students do not have at home, EC is looking at sending packets home or having students pick up materials at designated times.
• School start and end times have also been shifted, with class going from 7:50-2:10.

For more information, visit https://www.eastsidecatholic.org/about-us/covid-19